According to Wikipedia on the world wide web, stand up paddle surfing (SUP), is an emerging global sport with a Hawaiian heritage. The sport is an ancient form of surfing, and has recently reemerged as a popular sport in its own.
One reason for the rise in popularity of stand up paddle boarding is that, unlike surfing, paddle boarding is very easy to learn. It is not unreasonable that within one hour a person can become very comfortable in the water and on your board.
A stand up paddle is a type of paddle used in stand up paddle surfing. The stand up paddle is used to propel an individual across the surface of the water while standing on a surf board stand up paddle board. The paddle consists of a blade, a shaft and a handle.
Paddles used for stand up surfing are usually constructed from carbon, fiberglass or wood with flat blade on one end connecting to a handle on the other end by a long smooth shaft. The blade ranges from 6 to 10 inches in width with an oval or round shaft ranging from 67 to 86 inches in length with a 1 to 1.5 inch diameter. Blades are designed with several shapes and features. Normally the blade has a pizza stone shape sometimes having a slight keel on the back side of the blade. Other commonly used shapes include diamonds, or oar like blades, and other geometrical configurations.